RUNNING ON A DREAM
AWARD-WINNING WOMEN People can begin to nominate women in the community who they feel has made a difference worth formal recognition.
Track runner, Riley McInerney, breaks his father’s record with 4-minute mile run. PAGE 8
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Dai ly Eastern News
THE
W W W .D A I L YE A S TE R N N E W S. C O M
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
Students to engage in campaign against assault
% Funding Increase Academic Affairs
EIU Appropriated
Total Athletic Expenses
Total EIU Subsidy to Athletics
Faculty analyzes athletic overspending By Luis Martinez Administration Editor|@DEN_News The athletic department overspent their budget by $1 million, and while the news may be a surprise to some, the consequences of the overspending are now rippling throughout Eastern. Jonathan Blitz, a chemistry professor, gave a presentation Feb. 9 regarding the athletic budgets’ affect on the rest of the university. “What I’ve talked about is how much athletics actually spends,” Blitz said. “Which I don’t think people generally know.” Blitz discussed how much money is delegated to the athletic department each year. In 2013, Eastern gave the department about $10 million to spend.
“In 2013, EIU gave to athletics in all forms – whether it be state appropriation money – student fee money, support to keep the athletics facilities going,” Blitz said. Blitz said the athletic department about $13 million, but the department receives money from other sources. “They get a little bit of money from people donating to the athletics department,” Blitz said. “I think they get the money from the Pepsi contract, which is over a million dollars-ayear.” Blitz said he wanted to bring up that some people believe the athletic department is selfsustaining, when in reality, the amount of money Eastern gives to the athletic department pays for anywhere between two-thirds or threefourths of the athletic budget.
Eastern has funded a majority of the athletic department’s budget since 2005. “From 2007 to 2013, we see that the EIU subsidy to athletics and total athletics expenses has increased by about a third – about 35 percent or so,” Blitz said. “The appropriated money, that is the money that the state provides plus the money that is generated by income from student tuition and fees, has increased quite a little bit less than that, about 24 percent.” From 2007 to 2013, academic affairs had received about a 19 percent increase in funding. When looking at 2005 to 2013, the total increase of Eastern subsidy to athletics and total athletics expenses is 68 percent for both areas.
OVERSPENDING, page 6
Admitted students face slick weather By Stephanie Markham News Editor | @stephm202 Close to 300 newly admitted students and their families trudged through the snow on campus Monday to get a better feel of the university. Chris Dearth, the director of admissions, said Eastern is tracking ahead in freshman applications and offers of acceptance from last year. He said Eastern has accepted nearly 4,000 new students, whereas it had accepted between 3,600 and 3,700 at this time last year. Though the university has accepted more students, Dearth said Eastern’s selectivity is still strong, as it is only admitting about half of the applicant pool.
Dearth said freshman enrollment deposits are up 30 percent from last year; though he said he did not know the exact count. “Since we are running ahead in deposits, that should put us right where we want to be,” Dearth said. Cashiers were on hand for some students to pay their $150 deposits during their visit as well. Dearth said the snow may have kept some families away, especially from the southern Illinois area, but he said all families who were not able to attend were invited for the next Admitted Student Day on March 7. Omar Solomon, an admissions counselor, said despite the snowy weather, most visitors on Admitted Student Day have already seen the campus and were able to check out the residence halls and Booth Library.
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“You can’t plan for the weather, but families were still going on tours all morning and afternoon,” Solomon said. Jorie Nichol, an admitted transfer student from Batavia, said it started snowing about 10 minutes before she and her family got to campus, so it did not affect her trip too much. “I think the campus looks pretty in the snow,” she said. Dearth said this year the day was more focused on students who were already admitted, whereas in previous years it was more of an open house for everyone. “The two audiences didn’t mix well,” he said. “This is more of a celebration of acceptance and to make them feel comfortable here.” ADMITTED STUDENTS, page 5
By Roberto Hodge Multicultural Editor |@BertoHodge Sexual Assault on college campuses and how to fight against the issue will be the topic of a discussion along with a documentary at 6 p.m., Tuesday Feb. 24 in the Charleston-Mattoon room in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. Officially called “It’s On Us: Take a Stand Against Sexual Assault,” the discussion, hosted by Student Government, is also part of President Barack Obama’s “It’s On Us” campaign, which is a national organization asking both men and women to take the pledge ending sexual assault on college campuses. Reggie Thedford, the student body president, said students will have a chance to see a documentary “It Happened Here,” which will feature five women who were sexually assaulted on their campuses and how their schools handled the situation. Following the documentary, there will be a discussion on the topic with three students and two faculty and staff members. Questions regarding the film as well as campus resources and Title IX will be discussed. Title IX is an education amendment that protects against gender-based discrimination in education programs and activities. Eastern has resources on campus aiding those who have been sexually assaulted, such as Sexual Assault Interpersonal Violence Resources and Prevention, which has various links located on Eastern’s website. Thedford said sexual assault is an issue that is prevalent on college campuses nationally, so the campaign is a great way to get Eastern on board with awareness helping to make sure the university continues to be a safe environment preventing future cases. “You want your (education) environment to be safe and comfortable,” Thedford said. “We want it to be a student-lead campaign.” The goals of the discussion is to continue to promote a safe and environment on campus as well as educate those on sexual assault and its policies and resources on campus. Thedford said change begins fundamentally with how people look at the issue of sexual assault. According to dosomething.org, it is estimated that only 5 percent of sexual assaults on college campuses are reported, making sexual assault the most underreported crime. Thedford said everyone in the Eastern community should take action for preventing sexual assault. “We’re not blaming the victim, we’re all taking responsibility,” Thedford said. Roberto Hodge can be reached at 581-2812 or rlhodge@eiu.edu